The Elements of Slides in Effective Presentations
Overview• Quick Review of Critical Needs
• Composing Text
• Presenting Graphs, Diagrams, and Pictures
• General Formatting Concerns
• Q & A
Quick Review of Critical Needs• Introduction
-- Clarifies who, when, where, why about the ethical dilemma
– Explains why the dilemma is a dilemma– Forecasts content and purpose: moral theories
• Body Slides -- with specific headings• Conclusion
– Should be signaled– Should provide take-home points
Composing Text
• Choose your words carefully– Favor the concrete and specific over the
abstract– Provide definitions of unfamiliar terms– Adopt an appropriately formal tone
Outline
• Background
• Definitions
• Body
• Conclusions
• Q & A
Negative Example: Vaguely Worded Outline
Overview
• Big Picture• Definition of Waste• Pros • Cons• Transportation• Demographics• Geological Aspect• Budget
Negative Example: Vaguely Worded Outline (Slightly Improved)
Overview
• Current Radioactive Waste Storage Crisis
• Characteristics of Radioactive Waste
• Reasons for Supporting Yucca Mountain– Site Geology– Area Demographics – Transport of Waste to Site– Site Construction and Operation Expenses
Positive Example: Precisely Worded Outline
Composing and Organizing Bullets
• Make bullets brief
• Limit number of bullets
• Insure bullets are parallel
• Nest bullets to make organization of ideas explicit
• Organize to emphasize
Energy Studies are Needed
• Many studies reveal that houses that are just 15 years old are 50 % less efficient than a well insulated house today.
• Energy efficiency saves money• Everyone has a responsibility to use
resources conservatively.• Producing energy often pollutes our air,
water, and land
Negative Example: Wordy Bullets
Why Energy Studies are Needed
• 15-year-old houses are 50 % less efficient
• Efficiency saves money
• Available resources are dwindling
• Energy production pollutes
Positive Example: Streamlined Bullets
Benefits of research
• Parkinson’s disease• Alzheimer’s disease• Heart disease• Spinal cord injuries• Strokes • Burns• Brain trauma
• Mental retardation• Huntington’s disease• Epilepsy• Sickle cell anemia• HIV• Tay-Sachs disease• Infertility
Stem cells can help treat:
Questionable Example: Numerous Bullets
Controversy Over Fetal Tissue Research
• Pro-Choice:– Less likely to ethically
reject
– Protect Pregnant Women
– Treat tissue with respect
• Pro-Life:– Direct causal
responsibility
– Indirect causal responsibility
– Is it right to take one life to preserve others?
– Symbolic Association
Negative Example: Poorly Nested, Non-Parallel Bullets
Controversial Views on Fetal Tissue Research
• Proponents of Fetal Tissue Research:– tend to be Pro-Choice
– consider the ethics of potential lives saved
– adopt a utilitarian attitude toward abortion
• Opponents of Fetal Tissue Research:– tend to be Pro-Life
– consider the ethics of promoting abortions to serve this research
– reject the approach that takes one life to preserve others
Positive Example: Parallel bullet points, but somewhat wordy
• 50% of guns used by felons are stolen
• 1 in 6 police officers who die in the line of duty are killed
by their own gun
• 215 childhood accidental deaths every year are caused by
firearms
• “easier for a 4 year old to discharge a weapon than it is to
open an aspirin bottle” – quote by Stephen Teret, Johns Hopkins U
Negative Example: Poor Emphasis
“[It is] easier for a 4 year old to
discharge a weapon than it is to
open an aspirin bottle.”
Stephen Teret, Johns Hopkins University
Positive Example: Creating Emphasis by Breaking Pattern
Using graphs, diagrams, and pictures to aid retention
Retention Retention after three after three
daysdays
No No VisualsVisuals
VisualsVisuals
20%20%
40%40%
60%60%
Choosing and Designing Graphs, Diagrams, and Pictures
• Give big picture when possible
• Choose graph type appropriate to data
• Label graphs and diagrams carefully
• Integrate pictures into talk -- explain
Site Location
100 miles NW of Las Vegas
Choose Graph Type to Match Data
PC Market Share
HP13%
Dell24%Others
31%
Gateway22%
Compaq10%
Orient Audience to Graphs
Help Audience with Hard-to-Read Text
[Divello, 1998][Divello, 1998]
Formatting Concerns:Backgrounds
• Consider Topic-Appropriate Background
• Consider Patterned or Graded Background
• Avoid Distracting or Complex Backgrounds
• Use dark blue or light background
Use Color Effectively
Graduated color is
appealing
Graduated color is
appealing
Color Affects Mood, Readability and Credibility
Color can distinguish a presentation
Color can distinguish a presentation
Color affects the emotionsof the audience
during a presentation
Color can distinguish a presentation
Color can distinguish a presentation
Color affects how fastan audience can read
a visual
Color can distinguish a presentation
Color can distinguish a presentation
Color affects how fastan audience can read
a visual
Color Affects Credibility
Font
• Size Matters (Can you read this 18 pt. easily?)
• Style Matters (DON’T SCREAM AT US IN ALL CAPS!!!)
• Contrast Matters (How about blue on blue?)
Destruction
Negative Example: Tone Problems
Theories for Collapse
• Resonance
• Vortex-Induced Vibration
• Non-linear “Self-Excitation”
Negative Example: Drunk on Bells and Whistles
PROOFREAD
Concluding General Advice: Preparation
• Have a back-up plan• Develop memory
through practice• Avoid lengthy
notecards• Time yourself (6-7
min) [http://www.tuckamore-lodge.nf.net, 1999]
Positive Example: Illustrating an Abstract Idea
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